"He brings a lot to the side apart from his batting - but his batting is crucial to us.

"We're expecting him to come back strong. He's a strong character and resilient bloke.

"There have been plenty of incidences in the past where he has come back with a bang."

With England set to announce their World Cup squad on Wednesday it would be a major surprise if Collingwood's name was not amongst the list of 15 names.

But should he continue to struggle with the bat the veteran of 189 one-day internationals could find it difficult to keep his place ahead of the World Cup.

Competition for places in England's batting line-up is fierce at the moment with Kevin Pietersen looking to get back into the team after being dropped for the Pakistan series in the summer.

Ian Bell has strengthened his claims for a regular place following his rich tour while Jonathan Trott can make similar claims.

"There's a lot of competition for places," Strauss added.

"Kevin Pietersen's back in the squad and we all know what he can bring to the one-day team.

"Someone's got to miss out out of the batsmen. It will be a tough call but I think that's a good position to be in.

"They all bring different attributes to their game - you have to include Paul Collingwood in the mix as well - and we have to decide what's the best use of those attributes in Australia and at the World Cup as well."

Despite the pressure on his shoulders, Collingwood vowed to turn his fortunes around to ensure his place in England's first World Cup game against Holland on Feb 22.

"I'm obviously disappointed with my form," he said.

"I can't get away from the fact that I haven't scored many runs in Australia so far.

"But things go around in cycles in terms of form whether it be on a personal note or a team note.

"I know I'll come good again. It just takes that one score to come around and hopefully go back up on that cycle."